Wolff Wiese Magana LLC Sells 4,001 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wolff Wiese Magana LLC decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,001 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.6% of Wolff Wiese Magana LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $128.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $207.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $128.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.02.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.